Snow Day-"More sled...Evan definitely not 'fraid"

Evan has seen snow many times in his young life.  When we lived in Seattle, we took him out to enjoy the many snows last winter.  However, I don't think he remembers any of it.  So, we were very excited when we heard that it was going to snow here.  Evan would finally get to see some snow that he could explore and play in!

This morning, the North Carolina weather actually delivered and we woke up to a lovely blanket of white covering the world around us.  Ian and I were just as excited as Evan, perhaps more so.   I've realized, I'm sort of like a 7 year old kid when it comes to snow, always excited, always hoping for a snow day!

(Our house as a winter wonderland!)

Anyway, we ate a quick but warm breakfast, put on what woolies we could find, and headed outdoors.  Keep in mind, it doesn't snow here much, so Evan was missing a few pieces of apparel.  That didn't deter us.  No boots, no problems!  Plastic bags and Mommy's headbands made an excellent substitute!

(Daddy and Evan in their snow gear)

He loved everything about the snow!  He loved digging holes with his hands, running through the street, looking up as it fell from the sky, and definitely sledding!  We walked down the street to where some of our big boy neighbors were sledding down their driveway.  I thought there was NO WAY Evan would enjoy it because he's always been so cautious.  However, I was wrong.  He does not take after his mother on this one who has famously been quoted as saying, "No sled, Katy 'fraid!" when she was three.  He loved plodding up the driveway and coasting down the hill with his Daddy or the bigger boys.  In fact, he cried the whole way home when we had to go in.  I can't wait to head back out in the snow when he wakes up from his nap!

(Pregnant snow angel)

 

(Watching the snow fall from the sky)

(Frolicking through the snow--I love the boots!)

 

(My boys exploring the neighborhood)

 

(Daddy and Evan coast down the driveway.)

(What a big boy we have!)

Electrifying

Evan always comes in to our room in the morning when he wakes up and plays while we get ready.  He loves taking a shower with Daddy, brushing his teeth with either parent, or pulling Mom's makeup out of her drawer.  (We do actually have toys in the room, but those aren't nearly as interesting.)  Recently, he's found a new morning activity that he enjoys-drying hair!  He used to be scared of the hair dryer, but in the past few weeks he's developed an interest.  A few days ago, we decided to set the hair dryer on cool and let him try it out.  Turns out he's a natural hair stylist!  Take a look at the future hair dresser.

(The stylist at work)

(The finished product-the next hottest trend!)

A Little Family Resemblance

Grandma, Aunt Audra, and Cousin Jack arrived tonight for their much anticipated visit.  In preparation for their arrival I was putting some pictures up in the guest room of Evan and Jack.  I discovered something.  We have never seen any resemblance between the cousins before, but it was definitely there in these pictures.  Both boys have the same Bitler pout.  I had to find the pictures online and post them so everyone could see that these boys are definitely related!

The cousins-Jack at 4 weeks, Evan at 3 weeks:

Ladies watch out for this pair!

Bravery at the Playground

After two weeks of a deep freeze, the North Carolina weather decided to give us a few days of spring.  So, before winter returns Evan and I decided to spend as much time as we could outside.  On Monday, we headed over to a local park to enjoy the great outdoors and spend some time with our friends. 

As Evan watched his friend Carson on the swings, he decided that it was the day to be brave.  Up until that point, Evan had just said no to all swings except his baby swing where he napped.  He was always curious about them and would walk up just close enough to get bonked in the nose, but every time I tried to set him up in the swing his body would go rigid and he would scream.  So, needless to say, we did not play on the swings at playgrounds before Monday.

On Monday, like I said, Evan decided to be brave, or he just had a change of heart.  When he saw Carson on the swings he gestured to get up in the swing.  When I put him up there, I expected to hear him scream again, but he didn't.  I pushed him and he actually began to have a good time!  I was amazed.  Since then, he's asked to get back in the swings several times, and it's even been hard to get him off of them sometimes. 

I think this bravery is beginning to extend to other parts of his life, he has also suddenly been going down slides on his own as well.  Who knows what he will do next!

(My happy boy on the swing!)

(More evidence of his bravery, this time with puddles...also evidence that you should never wear white to a park!)

Cooking with Evan

We have discovered that Evan is destined to be a master chef!  How do we know, you might ask?  First, he pulls our cookbooks out of our shelves and flips through them saying "cook".  The cookbook on the edge of our bookshelf is "Mesa Grill" with a big picture of Bobby Flay on the cover.  Evan is always passing by that one and saying "Bobby".

If that weren't proof enough, recently he's been wanting to cook with Ian and I.  We pull up a chair and he whisks the eggs, "chops" the vegetables, or "grates" the cheese.  When we're in the kitchen, he has to be a part of it.  It's been a lot of fun. 

Yesterday, Evan and I had a morning at home, so we decided to head into the kitchen again.  This time, we were experimenting with orange Jello boats.  Experimental cooking is always the most fun.  First, we squeezed the oranges which he happily did.  Then, he was able to drink some fresh squeezed orange juice while I cleaned the rest of the pulp out of the oranges.  Next, he helped put some mandarin orange slices in the the orange shells, stirred the jello as it dissolved, and supervised as I poured the Jello into the orange bowls.

That night, at dinner time, we cut the set Jello oranges in half and Evan added the little toothpick flags with wax paper.  He thought they were beautiful and delicious.  I can't wait for more experimental cooking with my little boy!

The Steps in the Orange Jello Boat Preparation:

1.  Squeezing the oranges

2.  Adding the mandarin oranges

 

3. Admiring the finished product

4.  Enjoying the fruits of our labor

Next Stop, Mt. Everest

Ian and I had a bit of housework to do this weekend, so we pulled the ladder upstairs.  First, we had to reattach some of Evan's glow-in-the-dark stars to the ceiling in his bedroom.  The minute he saw the ladder he started saying "ladder" and "climb", uh-oh.  Ian climbed up and reattached a few while I entertained Evan and all was going well.  The lesson that we learned that day...never turn around while Evan is near a ladder, or for that matter anything that he could climb.  We turned our head for a second, turned back around and this is what we saw... 

We're thinking he's going to be a great mountain climber someday, but for now, I think he'll stick to furniture.  I'm a little nervous about where our little monkey is going to end up next!

Playdate Carnage

There was a time when Evan's playgroup would get together and all of the moms would say, "I can't wait until the kids are older and more independent so we can just watch them play and sit and relax.  Well, now, our little guys are definitely older and more independent, but play dates certainly haven't become less work for the mommies.

As our little boys run around the house exploring, mommies are following close behind with comments such as:

"No, you shouldn't pour goldfish in the dogs toys."

"Don't jump off the couch!"

"Don't give those raisins to the dog!"

"Thank you for spitting that grilled cheese in my hand."

"How'd you turn that TV on?"

"Please share!"

"Stop crying there is more than one ball!"

"How did he get up there?"

I'm sure there are many more quotes, but I know that those all came out of our mouth to some degree at our play date today.  Two of Evan's good friends, Quinn and Nathaniel, came over as well as their moms and Quinn's little brother Jonas.  Although the boys are definitely full of energy, a good time was certainly had by all as boys explored all the toys and moms enjoyed some good conversation and yummy treats. 

One of the unfortunate side effects of our older, more independent toddlers is the carnage they leave behind.  They truly haven't learned to clean up after themselves, so they leave a trail of toys and general chaos in their wake.  It definitely takes a bit of tidying and I was thankful for the help of the other moms at the end of the day.

Evan and I are so grateful for all of our mommy and toddler friends.  The kids will keep playing, learning, and exploring, and the mommies will keep wondering if they will ever be able to actually sit down at a play date again!  Does anyone have an answer?

Here are some pictures of the chaos left behind: